ERIC ED399450: Vocational Education Data in the U.S. Department of Education, 1996. Third Biennial Report to Congress.

19 Pages·1996·0.21 MB·English

by  ERIC

DOCUMENT RESUME
CE 072 589
ED 399 450
Houser, James, Ed.
AUTHOR
Vocational Education Data in the U.S. Department of
TITLE
Education, 1996. Third Biennial Report to
Congress.
National Center for Education Statistics (ED),
INSTITUTION
Washington, DC.
PUB DATE
96
18p.; Prepared by the Data Development and
NOTE
Longitudinal Studies Group.
Research/Technical (143)
Reports
PUB TYPE
EDRS PRICE MFO1 /PCO1 Plus Postage.
*Agency Role; *Data Collection; *Information
DESCRIPTORS
Dissemination; Information Sources; Postsecondary
Education; Program Improvement; *Public Agencies;
Secondary Education; *Vocational Education
*Department of Education
IDENTIFIERS
ABSTRACT
Four agencies are involved in the U.S. Department of
Education's vocational education data collection and reporting
activities, as mandated by the 1990 Perkins Act: National Center for
Education Statistics (NCES); Office of Vocational and Adult Education
(OVAE); National Institute of Postsecondary Education and Lifelong
Learning (NIPELL); and Office of the Under Secretary (OUS). NCES,
NIPELL, and OUS primarily provide data for use in formulating policy,
whereas OVAE primarily collects and reports data for use in program
administration. In its capacity as the Department of Education's
statistical agency, NCES collects and reports general-purpose
education statistics that are often relevant to vocational education
(for example, information on issues such as whether enrollment is
declining and whether students with disabilities take the same amount
of advanced vocational courses as students without disabilities do).
Both NIPELL and OUS staff conduct major studies of federal education
programs, whereas OVAE monitors vocational programs by collecting
data through its performance and financial status reports. In
compliance with its mandate under the 1990 Perkins Act, the
Department of Education has prepared a biennial report detailing its
strategies and activities to improve the data collection and
reporting activities of NCES, OVAE, NIPELL, and OUS.
(MN)
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Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made
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from the original document.
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VOCATIONAL EDUCATION DATA
IN THE
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, 1996
THIRD BIENNIAL REPORT TO CONGRESS
Mandated by the:
CARL D. PERKINS VOCATIONAL EDUCATION ACT,
AS AMENDED BY THE
CARL D. PERKINS VOCATIONAL AND
APPLIED TECHNOLOGY ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1990
Prepared by the:
NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS (NCES)
DATA DEVELOPMENT AND LONGITUDINAL STUDIES GROUP
Edited by:
JAMES HOUSER
DATA DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Ed
tional Research and Improvement
EDUC
ONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION
CENTER (ERIC)
his document has been reproduced as
received from the person or organization
originating it
C Minor changes have been made to improve
reproduction quality
Points of view or opinions stated in this docu.
ment do not necessarily represent official
OERI position or policy
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BEST COPY MLA LE
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this report is to respond to the mandate under
Section 421(f) of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act
(20 USC 2421), as amended by the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and
Applied Technology Education Act Amendments of 1990 (hereafter
referred to as the 1990 Perkins Act).
This provision requires
the Secretary to report biennially to Congress with respect to:
the performance of the Department of Education's vocational
education data collection and reporting activities; and
strategies to improve these activities.
The vocational- education data are derived from general purpose
surveys conducted throughout the Federal government and
The data system also includes
constitute a data system.
nationally representative data collected outside the Federal
The system is referred to as the Data on Vocational
government.
Since the DOVE plan is based on a number
Education (DOVE) plan.
of general purpose surveys that collect information on vocational
education in the context of the entire educational enterprise
instead of a single survey that specifically addresses vocational
the system is a derived one.
The DOVE plan thus
education
treats vocational education as part of education as a whole.
This approach allows researchers to draw comparisons between
vocational and non-vocational students and teachers.
While the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports
and collects data on vocational education, other components of
the Department of Education, including the Office of Vocational
and Adult Education (OVAE); the National Institute of
Postsecondary Education and Lifelong Learning (NIPELL); and the
Office of the Under Secretary (OUS), are also involved in
collecting and reporting data on vocational education.
NCES,
NIPELL, and OUS primarily provide data for use in formulating
OVAE, which administers programs under the 1990 Perkins
policy.
Act, primarily collects and reports data for use in program
administration.
NCES, the Department of Education's statistical agency, collects
and reports general purpose education statistics.
For instance,
the NCES 1990 High School Transcript Study has enabled
researchers to address such issues as whether enrollment in
vocational education is declining and whether students with
disabilities take the same amount of advanced vocational courses
as students without disabilities.
Both NIPELL and OUS staff
conduct major studies of Federal education programs, such as the
Chapter 1 program and the vocational education programs. NIPELL
staff members conducted the National Assessment of Vocational
Education Programs mandated by the 1990 Perkins Act prior to the
creation of the institute, when they were part of the Office of
OUS conducts program evaluations in the Department of
Research.
Education, such as the assessment of vocational education
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mandated by the 1984 Perkins Act.
OVAE collects data through its
performance and financial status reports to monitor programs
under the 1990 Perkins Act.
The remainder of this report describes the data collection and
reporting activities in each of these components of the
Department.
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NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS
NCES is located in the Office of Educational Research and
Improvement (OERI) and is the Department of Education's
This section describes NCES' activities to
statistical agency.
improve data collection and reporting related to vocational
education.
Activities to Improve Data Collection
The approach used by the DOVE plan, which is discussed in the
introduction, is supported by the 1990 Perkins Act.
Section
421(e)(1) of the Act states that:
In establishing, maintaining, and updating the system,
the Secretary shall
(A) use existing data collection systems
operated by the Secretary and, to the extent
appropriate, data collection systems operated by
other Federal agencies;
(B) conduct additional data collection efforts
to augment the data collection systems described
in subparagraph (A) by providing information
necessary for policy analysis required by this
section; and
(C) use any independent data collection efforts
that are complementary to the data collection
efforts described in subparagraphs (A) and (B).
Since NCES collects data on vocational education as part of its
general purpose surveys, NCES is able to place vocational
education in the context of all education and draw comparisons
between both vocational and non-vocational students and teachers.
NCES has occasionally conducted one- or two-page surveys of
vocational teachers or state directors of vocational education as
independent data collections to complement its data collection
using general purpose surveys.
NCES has undertaken two major initiatives to improve data
collection related to vocational education.
They are:
co-sponsoring a professional working group to study
vocational education data needs; and
reviewing all NCES surveys to add and improve items on
vocational education.
Professional Working Group.
NCES and the Office of Vocational
and Adult Education (OVAE) co-sponsored a study of vocational
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education data needs by the National Center for Research on
NCRVE established a professional
Vocational Education (NCRVE).
working group that provided an opportunity for representatives of
government agencies, as well as groups that have a strong
interest in vocational education, such as vocational student
organizations and associations for the disabled, to comment on
the Department's data collection plans as a whole.
The group
issued a final report on this activity, Improving National Data
Strengthening a Multiform System.
for Vocational Education:
The
report endorses the DOVE plan and the collection of data on
vocational education as part of general purpose surveys.
One
area the report indicated could be improved is the timing of data
collection on vocational education.
Currently, NCES'
longitudinal studies do not always coincide with reauthorization
cycles of the Perkins Act since the data are used for general
purpose statistics.
NCES also involves individuals
Questionnaire Review.
knowledgeable about vocational education in its regular process
After the design and
of reviewing its draft survey instruments.
objectives of a survey have been established, NCES staff, and
often individuals outside of NCES, review survey instruments.
NCES has routinely involved staff from NCRVE and OVAE in this
review.
Activities to Improve Data Reporting
NCES includes data on vocational education in publications, such
as the Digest of Education Statistics, that do not address
vocational education as a primary objective.
NCES also releases
data via printed reports or diskettes that focus on vocational
education to help make data more readily available to individuals
who are primarily interested in vocational education.
NCES has released several publications and a computer data
diskette on vocational education since the Perkins amendments
were enacted.
Vocational Education in the United States:
The Early 1990s
synthesizes data on students' participation in vocational
education, vocational teachers, and vocational schools from
surveys conducted by NCES, the Census Bureau, and the
National Assessment of Vocational Education.
This
publication is the second in its series, with the first
being Vocational Education in the United States:
1969-1990.
Vocational Coursetaking and Academic Achievement: An
Analysis of High School Transcripts and 1990 NAEP Assessment
Scores examines the relationship between vocational
coursetaking and academic achievement as measured by the
1990 National Assessment of Educational Progress.
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Trends in Participation in Secondary Vocational Education:
1982-92 examines how participation trends in vocational
education have changed for students during this time period.
This publication updates Participation in Secondary
Vocational Education, 1982-1987.
NCES Vocational Electronic Table Library, 1996 compiles
tables from several recent NCES publications on a computer
disk that allows individuals to search for data using key
words.
This is the second electronic table library NCES has
NCES Vocational Electronic Table Library is the
created.
first.
Vocational Education in the United States:
1969-1990
synthesizes data on students' participation in vocational
education, vocational teachers, and vocational schools from
most NCES surveys.
This publication was the first major
synthesis of vocational education data by NCES since 1981
and the start of a new series of publications.
A Comparison of Vocational and Nonvocational Public School
Teachers in Grades 9 to 12 uses data from the 1987-88
Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) to compare and contrast
the demographic characteristics and educational backgrounds
of vocational and nonvocational teachers.
Participation in Secondary Vocational Education, 1982-1987
examines changes in participation in secondary vocational
education between 1982 and 1987 using data from High School
and Beyond (1982) and the 1987 High School Transcript Study.
Public Secondary School Teacher Survey on Vocational
Education reports data from a survey of teachers that was
requested by the National Assessment of Vocational Education
authorized by the 1990 Perkins Act.
The survey reports on
policy initiatives in the 1990 Perkins Act, such as
integrating vocational and academic education.
NCES Vocational Electronic Table Library is a computer
diskette that includes over 100 tables from NCES'
publications on vocational education.
Users can search for
data they are interested in seeing by typing in key words.
Vocational Education in G-7 Countries:
Profiles and Data
describes the vocational education systems in the G-7
countries
Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the
United Kingdom, and the United States.
This report also
discusses the availability and adequacy of comparable data
on vocational education in the United States and its major
trading partners.
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NCES plans to issue additional publications and products on
vocational education that will address the following topics:
an update of vocational education in the United States (the
third in the series); and
an issue brief with highlights from Vocational Education in
the United States:
The Early 1990s.
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NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION
AND LIFELONG LEARNING
The National Institute on Postsecondary Education and Lifelong
Learning (NIPELL) is a unit within the Office of Educational
Research and Improvement with responsibility for conducting
research related to vocational education.
The Office of
Research, which existed prior to the reorganization that created
NIPELL and other research institutes, was the unit in the Office
of Educational Research and Improvement that conducted the
National Assessment of Vocational Education Programs.
This
assessment was mandated by Section 403 of the 1990 Perkins Act.
It evaluates the current status of vocational and occupational
education, including the implementation of provisions of the 1990
Perkins Act.
This section describes the topics the assessment
addresses, the methods used to address them, and the timing of
the reports that release the findings from the assessment.
Maior Subject Areas to be Addressed by the Assessment
The assessment addresses four major subject areas, which include
all of the issues mandated under the 1990 Perkins Act.
The broad
subject areas are:
the implementation and, where possible, effects of the 1990
Perkins Act, including the allocation of funds;
participation of special populations in vocational
education;
the quality of vocational education programs; and
vocational education and employment.
Implementation.
The 1990 Perkins Act was intended to
promote major reforms in vocational education.
Because of the
limited time period covered by the assessment, the assessment
does not determine definitively whether these reforms are
However, it examines the processes of implementing
successful.
provisions of the 1990 Perkins Act, gauges the progress of states
and localities in achieving goals of the legislation, and
identifies the effects of the Act insofar as they are observable
by the spring of 1993.
Examples of questions that address
implementation of the 1990 Perkins Act include:
1) What steps
are being taken to develop and implement performance standards?
2) What services are provided to special populations? and 3) What
are states and localities doing to implement provisions of the
Act?
Participation of Special Populations.
Participation of
special populations in vocational education has been a continuing
emphasis of Federal policy, but the 1990 Perkins' Act changes the
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The 1990 Perkins Act eliminates set-asides for some
approach.
groups, such as students with disabilities and the limited
Examples of how the assessment studies the
English proficient.
participation of special populations include comparing
participation rates of special and general populations at both
the secondary and postsecondary levels and using longitudinal
data to determine the employment outcomes of special education
students who participate in vocational education.
The assessment also addresses three
Program Quality.
questions related to the quality of vocational education:
1) How
well qualified are teachers of vocational education?
2) What is
the quality of course materials used? and 3) What are the
academic outcomes of vocational education?
Employment Outcomes.
Employment is an important outcome of
participation in vocational education.
The assessment examines
the school-to-work transition efforts, employment outcomes of
vocational students, the relevance of vocational training to
subsequent occupations, and employer involvement in and
satisfaction with vocational education.
Methods Used in the Assessment
The Office of Research used a variety of methods in the study.
The assessment conducted surveys and case studies, analyzed NCES
data, reviewed existing literature, and used studies conducted by
research centers funded by the Department of Education.
Surveys were conducted of secondary and postsecondary
schools, school districts, state directors of vocational
education, teachers, education directors of juvenile
correctional facilities, advisors to vocational student
organizations, and employers.
The surveys provide
nationally representative data.
Community-based case studies were conducted at 20 sites
Another set of case studies was
across the country.
A
conducted on tribal schools that receive Perkins funds.
third set of case studies examined changes in schools that
received much higher and much lower Perkins allocations in
the 1991-92 school year than in the previous year.
These
case studies provide in-depth information not easily
obtained from a national survey.
The Office of Research examined student participation,
academic outcomes, and teacher qualifications using NCES
data sets, such as the National Assessment of Educational
Progress, the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, and
the Schools and Staffing Survey.
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